


Jessica Drew: Agent in Progress

by Notanotherspider



Category: Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics), Marvel, Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Woman (Comic), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awesome Carol Danvers, Best Friends, Childhood Trauma, Confessions, F/F, First Meetings, Friendship/Love, Multi, Psychological Trauma, Sandwiches, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2020-11-08 23:28:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20843807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notanotherspider/pseuds/Notanotherspider
Summary: An introduction on Carol/Jess story in the MCU. More characters will be added in the upcoming chapters.





	1. Falling Star

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I write in English, so I apologize in advance for any errors. Next chapter will be longer.

The only thing she could think about was that in five minutes she would be eating a delicious sandwich. Only one more table to go and she could take her lunch break. Being a waitress wasn't that bad after all, although it wasn´t her first career choice. Not as if being a superpowered spy had been her choice to begin with. Actually, her entire life wasn't her choice. Being experimented on by her father, being kidnap and trained by Hydra, hadn't been her choices either. Every time she believed she was doing the right thing; life proved her wrong. When the infamous Black Widow released all Hydra files to the public, she read in horror the details of every mission she had participated in. Every person she had defeated, every intel she had gathered, every order she had executed, were in benefit to the terrorists she stupidly believed she was fighting against. Well, at least her spy training guaranteed her pretty good tips. "_When did her life get so pathetic?"_

  
_ “Just another day, just another sandwich.” _ She thought to herself, while she was drawling over the ham sandwich she was about to eat. Before she could take a bite, she raised her eyes to the sky just in time to see a fire-ball rushing to the San Francisco Bay. Her jaw was still open when she noticed it wasn't any space crap falling but an unconscious woman. Without any doubt, she put her sandwich in her mouth, grabbed her bike and headed to the Golden Gate Bridge at full speed. _How could a woman be falling from the freaking sky?_ _ Was she even alive? How come her cloths hadn't caught on fire? _ She had barely any time to think, she needed to let her instincts take over.

  
Tossing her bike aside to take an impulse and having a quick final bite of the sandwich, she jumped to catch the falling woman before she could hit the water. The weight of the body she was now holding and the lack of a proper suit were making it harder for her to glide. Although she eventually could slow down enough to cushion the fall, they ended up hitting the freezing water anyway. She hated being cold more than anything, but the other woman was strangely warm. It was a good sing, after all she was certainly still alive. How could that even be possible? After swimming for what it seemed an eternity but were surely only a couple of minutes, they were pulled from the water to a chopper and brought to land.

  
_ “ We've been looking for you Miss Drew. We'll take it from here. _ _”_Jessica heard the voice of a man and traced it to an armed cross figured wearing an eye patch. Next to him, a dark-haired, blue-eyed woman was furiously staring at her. She had met that same look before, agent Maria Hill's killer look, standing right next to the Nick Fury, former director of Shield. Before she could even stand, still shivering, at least a dozen heavily armed agents were pointing their guns at her while, what it looked like a medical team, was taking the unconscious woman to the back of a ban. She didn't lost the sight of her. Jessica was desperate to know the woman was going to be alright, after all, she had risked everything to save her. 

  
_ “Don’t even think about running away. We are not letting you disappear this time. _ _”_ Maria said with determination as the door of the ban closed. There was no point in resisting; it was better to be taken prisoner to check on the meteorite woman, so Jessica slowly raised her arms into the air in sing of submission. 

_“__To be fair, last time I disappear, so did half the Earth.” _ She said with a smirk.

\----

As it was expected, she had been blind folded, handcuffed, and drove into different directions to mislead her where they were taking her. To be fair, she wasn't concerned about her future whereabouts at all, she was only warring about the woman she had saved. Jessica was tired of running away. After she had escaped from Hydra, she tried to have a normal life, she read a bunch of philosophy books to find a meaning for her messy life, she even considered doing something to redeem herself, but she couldn't do that and keep a low profile at the same time. So she kept running away, not be found, not to be caught in a fight ever again, not to get attached to anything or anybody. Then half of the Universe vanished and so did she. The worst part of disappearing was to realize nobody even noticed it. What was the point in hiding anymore? She knew where she belonged. She belonged in prison, and she was probably heading there. At least she got the chance to save a life before being locked up for life.  
  
After a fly that lasted a few hours and more driving, she finally was released from the handcuff and thrown in a high-tech cell while Maria Hill was smirking in satisfaction watching the scene. Jessica could relate on what the agent was feeling, she had blasted her on a couple of occasions after all. _“What can we do to make your stay with us more comfortable Miss Drew?”_ Nick Fury asked sarcastically.

_“Well, you could start by giving me a blanket or turning on the heat. I would hate to give this place a bad review on Yelp.”_ Jessica answered echoing the tone.  
  
Maria rolled her eyes and turned to Nick Fury's direction. “_Let me interrogate her. After I'm done, she won´t be making stupid jokes.” _Her boss moved his head in denial.

_“So, miss Drew, are you planning on telling us what the hell were you doing at the Golden Gate Bridge at the exact same time as a woman was falling from the sky?” _

_“__Eating a sandwich.”_ She answered smoothly. She knew anything she could tell them was going to be taken as a lie. Why should they trust her? Jessica knew this was going to end up the same way. Fury got closer to the cell.

_“You want us to believe that you just happened to be there by accident?! After all the things you've done while working for Hydra! Hell, no! I want you to tell me the truth! Who are you working for? Where were you planning to take the woman? What have you done to her? I swear if you try to bullshit your way out of this, I'll let Maria have it her way. ”_ She couldn't lose her patient, and she needed to play it as smart as possible if she wanted them to tell her how the woman was doing_._

_“Look, you obviously care a lot about this woman, as strange as this may sound so do I. I have no intention to lie to you.”_ She told them the truth, but she had no hope they'd believe her. They stare at each other in silence for a moment and then burst into laughter.  
  
  
_“Agent Hill, she is all yours.” _Nick Fury said before another agent came with a report. He pressed a bottom and Jessica couldn't hear any sound anymore. Luckily, the agent was unexperienced and eager to impress his boss, so he started talking very much unaware any well trained spy could read lips. Maria Hill must have pointed that out because the younger agent looked at Jessica and then quickly turned away. However, she was still able to gather some information, the woman's name was Carol Danvers and they didn´t have a clue on what was wrong with her.


	2. An astral trip.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick Fury requested Dr. Strange presence to put some light on what was happening to Carol.

There hadn't been many times in his life where Nick Fury was so desperate for an answer. His team had run every test their technology could on Carol Danvers, and the results hadn't thrown any problem, at least any physical issue that would explain why his friend, one of the most powerful women of the Universe, was still unconscious.

“Contact Dr. Stephen Strange, immediately, send him the update data… Let him know this is an emergency, and that his presence is our last hope. That will motivate that smug!” Nick told one of the agents, who nodded and proceeded as requested.

After only a few minutes, a sparky hole appeared in the middle of the room, from where Dr. Strange was coming out with a concern expression. “I was hoping not to see you again, Nick. Give me every test result on Carol and take her here, so I could examine her myself.” Nick gave Maria Hill a look, and she yelled the orders to the others.

“While they bring Carol, I need you to do your magic thing on somebody else.” As he was talking, he walked with the sorcerer to the cell.

“Do you realize I'm a doctor and the Sorcerer Supreme, right?” Stephen said annoyed by Fury. Then he focused his attention to the woman locked in the cell, he wondered why a simple woman was in a high-tech prison, she wasn´t an alien and she didn´t appear to be a threat at all. Jessica was sitting in the bed looking with suspicious to both men, as they stood in front of her; she smiled and waved at them with sarcasm. “Is this woman considered dangerous?” Before Fury could answer him, Stephen cast a spell and saw Jessica waitressing at the café and then rushing to save Carol. “Seriously, is she dangerous? Maybe to a ham sandwich.” He laughed while saying it. “Everything she told you checks up.”

Jessica stood quickly, frowning her face. From the glass they could see she was yelling at them, her arms fluttered in the air, her face was red as her veins were popping out her forehead, a green glow was coming from her hands. “Step aside from the glass, Dr.” Fury warned Stephen while he grabbed his armed and pulled him aside.

An explosion knocked them to the ground. “You are both stupid crazies if you think you can just play with my mind like a puppet! I tried to do this the right way Fury, but you seem to have your mind set otherwise if…” She suddenly stopped talking when she saw the agents carrying a gurney with Carol, their faces filled with terror. “Why hasn't she woken up, yet?” She turned to Fury, who was pointing a gun at her, and Stephen who had casted a protective spell. “Really? If I wanted you or anybody hurt, you would know it by now.” She said raising an eyebrow, challenging both men.

“Put your guns down! If she tries to hurt anyone I am more than capable to stop her.” Strange told Fury, who finally put his gun down and so did the rest of the agents.

“Alright, Miss Drew, seems you have somebody on your corner. Don't make me regret this.”

The three of them stood next to Carol's body. “I can't detect any signs of magic. It appears something got inside her mind and detached her conscience from her memories. Everything is there, but she can't have access to any of it.” The sorcerer looked worry.

“Is there a way to re-attach her, Dr.?” Nick asked.

Jessica was staring at the woman. She didn't get the chance to really see her while she was falling. She looked strong, healthy; her blonde hair falling at both sides of her head, her breath was deep and smooth; she looked like she was peacefully dreaming.

“There is something I could do, but it's really dangerous. I could possess her and try to re-build her mind from within.” Stephen interrupted Jessica's thought.

“Is that something alike of what you just did to me?” She gave him an angry look.

“No, I just saw a moment of your life. This is different. If I possess Carol, I will gain full access to her mind and body, I'll be able to manipulate her--”

“No! You have to find other way of helping her. When you were on my mind, I lost control of everything. And FYI, it felt like shit!” Jessica snapped back at him.

“Yes, I've figured that out from the way you blew half the place.” He said between his teeth while he was lost in his thoughts. “There might be another way. I could use astral projection to guide one of your souls through her memories. As the soul would pass through them, it would gain the feelings that are lost-- But I doubt any of you could survive that. Astral projection lets the body expose and weak, I would need probably a couple of hours and that would require a lot of preparation to make it unharmed. And none of you have the experience that is needed for--.” Stephen was saying almost hopeless.

“If you are sure that could work, you can use my soul.” Jessica said without a doubt.

“I don't think you understand what you are offering. Not only will your body heavily deteriorate, but your conscience will be put under a great amount of stress. Every emotion Carol felt, good and bad will run through your soul and then detached within seconds. It will certainly kill you or worse! I think possessing her is the best I can do, even if there are fewer chances of success.” Stephan was determined to go his way and so was Jessica.

“Look, Mister Wizard guy or whatever your name is.” Strange rolled his eyes. “My body regenerates faster than a regular person's body, my life has been a traumatic event after another one, and I was supposed to die when I was a child and, guess what… I didn´t! Even if I died today, nobody would care, so tell me what you need me to do to astral my soul and let's get this over with.” She was almost yelling again, she was going to protect Carol at all cost.

“You heard the woman, Strange. Let’s begin!” Fury interrupted them before Stephen could object. “I think you better lay down on a bed then. And Miss Drew, try not to die. We have many pending issues with you, yet.” Already on the bed looked suspiciously at Fury.

“Just focus on saving Carol.”

As Dr. Strange closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he reached his hand to Jessica and with a single touch, pulled her soul out of her body and pushed it into Carol's. Drew had never felt something like that, light as feather, powerless. She was standing at a baseball curt, tight jaw, eyes set on the pitcher as the child was preparing to throw the ball. A powerful force pulled her again, and she was running toward two boys. The taller one had dark hair and was laughing, the youngest one was blonde and she could notice the resemblance with Carol. She could feel the love deep in her soul, as they hugged she got pulled away again. She tried to resist but then, Jessica heard Stephen voice. “Just relax Jessica, you are in Carol's memories now. Don’t try to hold on or your conscience may be bonded to Carol’s permanently. ” _Thanks for the warning, _she thought as she tried to stay calm.

Danver’s mother was waiting for her at a small kitchen with a big smile on her face and arms open; she left her backpack on the floor and showed her a paper graded with an A+; her father was sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand. Everything went dark, Jessica shrugged in fear when the man was pulling her with one hand while with the other one slapped the mother. Tears were pouring down her cheeks, her body was shaking, and she got pulled away again. She could see an airplane, she was running alongside other people dressed as soldiers, she blinked and was drinking a beer with a woman named Maria Rambeu. Everything went so fast, Jessica was agitated, dizzy; she felt love, and fear, she felt hopeless and then omnipotent. For a few seconds she was glowing, fearless, going after a blue monster… And all of the sudden she was looking at Carol's reflection in a mirror, terrified at who she was, and then the darkness took over. The last thing she could remembered hearing, was Strange´s voice. “You did well.”

******

Carol was as much as awake as she was confused. “Fucking Gru!”

“So, it finally came about. Living in space got you to forget your manners, Danvers.” Nick said smiling at Carol. She ran and hugged him. “What the hell happened to you?”

“I was kinda hoping you could help me with that, Nick. The last thing I remembered was taking down Queen Gru, and I think when I blasted her to death she reached out and--“ Carol stood in silence. “I took an alien hit, sorta speaking.”

“You took more than a hit apparently.” Dr. Strange’s cynical voice came from the back. Carol saw him standing beside the bed of an unconscious woman, torching her body in pain. The captain walked towards them to have a better sight of her. “Oh. Don’t worry about her. She’ll survive.” Stephen reassured her.

“So, I’ll take that you are the one who saved me, Dr. Thanks. Emm, did I… Did I do that to her?” Carol felt awful to consider she was responsible for hurting that woman.

“Actually,” Fury intervened. “She is the person who saved you. Dr. Strange used her to put you back together. And, before you say something stupid, consider the fact that she volunteered for it.”

“Oh. Is she part of the Avengers now?” Carol was truly intrigued and a little ashamed she needed to be rescue by a woman who was obviously less powerful than her. She went to a room next door and put on some clothes.

“Not even close. Her name is Jessica Drew; former Hydra agent.” Fury began to explain.

“The terrorist organization?!” Carol was baffled. “Why would she save me, then?”

Nick shrugged, “You got me, there. You can take a look at her file if you’d like. According to our intel she was supposed to become the next Madam Hydra. She’s not an ordinary person, Carol.”

“I guess you could say that.” Danvers was looking at Jessica while saying that. Then she extended her arm to catch Fury´s tablet. “I’d take a look at it.”

“Given the fact she saved your life, maybe you can consider there is more to her than that file would reflect.” Dr. Strange gazed at the man. “I’m oblivious to the world of espionage, but I think you need a new and better appraisal of this whole situation.”

Carol nodded as she read what Hydra did to Jessica, what her parents did to her. In her file she was referred to as Experiment Subject J.M.D. She was treated as a weapon rather as person, even when she was a little girl. The captain felt sorry for her, despite what she did for Hydra, it didn’t look like she had a choice. “Are you forgetting she blasted the cell she was in, endangering your life?” Maria snapped at Strange. “I fought against her in more than one opportunity, she is responsible for the death of dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D agents. You can believe whatever you want; she still needs to pay for what she’s done.”

“You mean like Bucky or Natasha did?” Carol snapped back at Hill. The agent just frowned as she sought for Fury’s help.

“We can discuss this later.” Nick tried to finish what he knew it was a pointless argument between the women. 

Jessica opened her eyes slowly to see Nick Fury and Stephen talking next to her, as she turned her head around she saw Carol´s face smiling down at her. She jumped in destress and attached herself to the ceiling, her mind was still spinning out of control.

“It´s okay, Jessica. Nobody is going to hurt you after what you did for me.” Carol’s voice was soothing to her. “Just come down so I could properly introduce myself.”

Jessica let herself fall to the ground and smiled at Carol. Her brain felt like a smash potato. “It seems you’re doing fine, Jane Doe. You owe me a ham sandwich, by the way.” She said with a smirk on her face.

“I’d like to remind you, you’re still under our custody.” Maria Hill said looking at her with her distinctive expression. “One good action doesn’t redeem you of a lifetime of crimes. I don’t care who you have saved… Just so you know.”

“I’m not looking for redemption, Maria… Just so you know.” At least, that was what she’d been telling herself.

Carol had met Agent Hill only once, at Tony Stark’s funeral service. They hadn´t spent enough time together for her to form an opinion of Maria, but she certainly, didn’t appreciate the way she was talking to the woman who saved her… Twice. . It was probably the fact that she felt she own Jessica more than just a stupid sandwich, but she couldn’t stand Maria talking to her like that. “Knock it off, agent Hill! I’d better take you for that sandwich before you blast Maria’s ass.” She said while grabbing gently Jessica’s arm.

Drew felt shivers down her spine, the other woman felt as warm as she did at the San Francisco Bay. “Carol, you are well aware of Ms. Drew’s past. We can't let her walk away free.” Nick noticed his friend determined expression; he had seen it before. It was a lost battle. “Go get your food but bring her back right after. I’m being deadly serious.”

“Gotcha! Wouldn’t have it any other way, Nick.” Carol brought two of her fingers to her forehead and saluted him. “We’ll talk about it later.” She winked at Jessica as they walked away.

“Wait, are you seriously going to grab a meal on that suit?” Jessica was looking at Carol’s body. She was really beautiful.

“Ha ha. No! Nick had a place set for me here in New York, in case I decided to return to Earth. I’ll fly us there to change into regular people’s clothes.” _So, New York it is,_ Jessica thought. Carol pulled Jessica closer to her. The other woman looked startled; she probably stared to long into her green eyes before going off the ground. She hopped Jess hadn´t notice it.

In no-time they arrived to a small apartment fully furnished but poorly decorated. It was clear nobody lived there. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be ready in a just a few seconds.” Carol said, already stripping as Jess looked away awkwardly. She moved to the couch exhausted and dropped on it. “I’ll have some food deliver. We can stay here if you want.” Jessica gave her a big smile and a thumb up.

“For someone who knows she let a terrorist into her apartment, you seem weirdly comfortable about it.” She was impressed by the way Carol behaved around her, so confident and cool. After people discover who she was, they avoided or fear her. Probably both.

“Well, not all terrorists will risk their life to save me… Or have the most beautiful green eyes I’ve ever seen.” Carol said a little flirtatious and laughed when she noticed the blush spreading on Jessica’s cheeks. “I have the feeling there is more of you that what meets the eyes.”

“Says the woman who shamelessly tried to flirt with me a minute ago.” They both laughed that time until Jessica was caught under her thoughts.

“What’s wrong? I wasn’t seriously flirting with you. Just wanted to make you blush, that’s all.” It was the first thing that came across Carol’s mind.

“Oh, no. Hahaha. It’s not that. It’s nothing really. I’m just starving.” Jessica was deflecting the topic, but she noticed the other woman disbelief. “Have you read my file?” She asked with bitterness in her voice. Carol smiled softly at her as nodding. “So you know I’ve done some terrible things, Carol. It just hard to believe that anyone could trust me after that. Especially you.” That last sentence spilled out of her mouth without intended to do so. She broke the eye contact ashamed and stared at her legs.

Carol raised her eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

Jessica couldn’t back down now; she took a deep breath and tried to explain herself. “I’ve been inside your head, I’ve felt how profoundly disgusted you feel about less serious actions than what I’ve done. I know you probably feel you owe me something, but you don’t have to help me- - I’m not a good person.” Her eyes were filled with tears, but she restrained herself from crying. It was the first time she said that out loud, she had never shared what she felt with anyone before, not even with Madam Hydra. Hearing those words coming out of her mouth, made it real. She felt miserable.

Carol was moved by the confession. She reached Jessica’s hand and when their gazes met, she knew she owe her at least the truth. “You are without the shadow of a doubt the bravest person I’ve ever met, Jessica. You didn’t only risk your life in order to save mine, but you also risked your freedom. There is so much good in you! If only you could see that.” She hesitated for a moment. “I’ve done some terrible things as well. That’s why I felt disgusted. The alien I was fighting against made me face myself. Who I was. Who I am. I rush into things blindly, or I run away from them entirely. I am a coward and a killer. I try to believe that I am a good person… But I’ve made some terrible mistakes, Jessica.” Carol couldn’t hold her tears. “The only thing I know how to do with them is try to fix them.”

Jessica didn’t know what to say to comfort her. She was terrible at this. “What a pair of losers we are!” She finally said, gently smiling at Carol as she passed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

“I couldn’t think of a better match!” Carol wiped her tears and smiled.


	3. A choice to make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update! I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Carol and Jessica felt extremely comfortable with each other. They were eating Tai food, sitting on the couch, watching TV. Carol was a sci fi fan, she owned all the Star Wars movies DVD’s and all the seasons of Star Trek. Jessica hadn’t watched any of them, but decided to give it a chance seeing how excited Carol was about the show.

“I can’t believe you’ve never watched Star Trek before!” The blond woman said pausing the TV show.

“Hmm-humm” Jessica tried to say with her mouth filled with food. After she swallowed, she could articulate an answer. “Well, movie night wasn’t a thing at Hydra camp and after I escaped I focused more on staying alive rather than catching up with pop culture. Also, I can’t believe you didn’t know how to use a DVD player.” She laughed at Carol lack of experience with human technology. It was actually unbelievable that a woman, who knew so much of alien advanced technology, couldn’t manage to turn on a DVD player. 

Carol felt terrible. She couldn’t imagine what Jess’ childhood was like. She had missed so many things in life. It wasn’t her intention to make her feel uncomfortable, she could tell that Jessica hided her feelings behind sarcasm. “That’s a pathetic excuse, Drew.” She said with a smirk. “I’ll make it my personal mission to teach you how to be a functioning human been, Spock.”

“Do you realize you’re the one who isn’t entirely human right?” Jessica was having a great time, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so comfortable with other person. It was probably the first time she felt like a regular person. “I think that makes you the Captain Kirk in this relationship. Aaand the biggest geek I ever met.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, ham-sandwich woman.” Carol said pointing a finger at Jessica playfully as both of the women laughed.

The analogic sound of an old cellphone interrupted the moment. Nick Fury was calling. “Carol, we have a situation to address. Why don’t you head to 54th Street and 9th Avenue and see it for yourself? I’ve already sent a team over, but they could use some back up. As for Ms. Drew, you can take her with you, but don’t let her out of sight. She’s still in our custody.”

“Copy that. I’ll fly us there.” She hanged the call. “Do you have a suit?” Carol asked turning quickly to Jessica.

The brunette was confused. “Why would I need a suit?” She was still sitting in the couch when Carol headed to a bookshelf and pressed a hidden bottom. It opened a secret compartment. Jessica widened her eyes to the sight of weapons, communication devices, bulletproof vests and a lot of other equipment she knew too well. “Wait a second, Carol. Where are we going?”

“Nick called for assistances.” Carol said and looked at Jessica. She could sense the concern in her voice. “Don’t worry; you don’t have to come with me if that’s not what you want. But I could really use your help. It’s up to you.” She gave Jess a reassurance smile, hopping that would encourage her to go. Carol was intrigued by what she had read in Jessica’s file. She had never seen or heard of someone with her powers and abilities, and she really wanted to see them in the scene. This woman was definitely a keeper. 

“You are the captain. I’ll be right beside you, Kirk.” Jessica suited up. She wasn’t sure why, but she knew she could trust Carol.

\------

They arrived to the destination where a man on a strange suit was fighting against the agents on the field. With the hit of the weapon the villain was holding, he knocked twenty agents of the ground.

“Is that Ulysses Klaw?” Jessica asked.

“Old friend?” Carol dropped Jess on the ground.

“Not at all. He was a scientist, who turned himself into this living energy being that relies on sound waves to exist.” Science was not her strong point, but she had read Hydra files on pretty much any possible ally, a bunch of times. The man was finally discarded due to his mental instability, and that was a lot to say. “Try not to get hit. He invented a sound converter thing that uses as a weapon. He can hit with a maximum force equivalent to 3000 pounds of TNT.” Jessica had seen security cameras recordings of his most important hits. Dr. Klaw was dangerous, but she was confident that even Carol alone could take him down.

“How do you know this stuff?” Carol eyes widened in surprise. Nick hadn’t given her any intel on the man, so she had assumed he was a new threat.

“I read.” Jessica shrugged. There was no time to explain, they needed to stop the scientist as soon as possible. There was a blonde agent dogging all Klaw’s shots. She was really skillful, better trained than the other SHIELD agent Jessica had faced. Carol flew above them and hit him with a blast intending to knock him out, but it didn’t work.

“We need to create a sound so powerful that will disintegrate some of his body mass. Do any of you know where to find a bullhorn?” The blonde agent said to both women while she was hiding behind a bus with Jessica.

Carol manufactured a device while the other women attacked Klaw in order to divert his attention from the captain’s actions. Jessica was up in the air trying to avoid a shot, but she was out of shape. She was barely hit above the shoulder, but the impact was strong enough to destabilize her landing, making her fall. Carol rushed into Jessica’s position to protect her from another shot. She got hit but managed to absorb the energy of the hit.

“Jess! Are you hurt?” Carol held out a hand to help her stand. She toasted the megaphone to the blonde agent who was moving closer to Ulysses and yelled into it. He started to shake, and she managed take the weapon away from him and locked him inside some sort of container.

“Yeah, too many sandwiches and too little training. That was rather embarrassing.” Jessica told Carol as she shook of some dust out off her hair.

“I have to say you are a real disappointment, Drew. The way people in SHIELD talk about you, I thought you could manage a twat like Klaw.” The blonde agent approached both women who were now staring at her in anger.

“Who the hell are you?” Carol turned to the agent.

“I guess I’m Fury’s latest acquisition. But you can call me Yelena.” The agent smirked to them.

Before any of the women could answer, the wheel noise of a car braking made them turned around. The door opened quickly and a handcuffed man was thrown from the inside by two smiling HYDRA agents who waved at Jessica as the shut the door closed and the car drove far away fast.

Jessica was paralyzed with fear; a stunned expression still remained on her face while Carol rushed to the man and Yelena shoot at the car’s direction. It was the first time since she had vanished in the shadows, that she encountered any HYDRA agent. She had wondered how she would react if that ever happened; she had pictured how she would blast the whole squad to the ground; how she would make their bases explode in the air; she had even thought about given a speech to Madam Hydra before taken her down. But now… Now it was actually happening, and she couldn’t even move.

“Put your shit together, Drew. They didn’t even try to engage.” Yelena grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her off her thoughts. Jessica was looking at the other woman mouth, trying to understand what was going on. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath hoping to calm down.

“You double-crossing little-whore. Miss me?” Jessica knew that voice too well. _It can’t be him. This… This isn’t happening. _The little calm she had gained before was definitely gone. She felt her heartbeat down her throat, she couldn’t breathe anymore.

Carol put the man down roughly and headed toward Jessica. “Jess… Look at me, please.” She caressed the scared women’s cheek gently and guided her gaze until their eyes met. She could feel her shivering under her touch. Jessica couldn’t hold her tears any longer; nevertheless, she tried to hide them behind her hands. “Just take a deep breath. They can’t hurt you anymore. I promise you, you’re not alone.”

Yelena dragged the men and pulled him inside a SHIELD vehicle, before approaching both women. “Follow me to the car. I’ll drive us back to the base.” She started walking but suddenly stopped. “If you want to go anywhere else, just let me know.” She said to them without turning.

“We should get going, Carol.” Jessica whipped the tears of her face. “I need to face this.”

“No, you don’t. We’ll face this together.” Carol smiled at her as they walked to the car. Jessica didn’t smile. Her past had finally caught her and she wanted to set herself free. She wasn’t sure SHIELD or even Carol could understand her past, she didn’t know how they would react to the things she had done that weren’t on her file. She had made a decision: she wasn’t running anymore.

“So… Are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Yelena cut off the awkward silence of the ride.

Jessica pursed her lips. “He’s a HYDRA agent. He… We used to work together.” She felt her body tense up and clenched her teeth.

“Work, uh? It’s pointless to lie Jessica…” Yelena was interrupted by Carol.

“That’s enough! She doesn’t have to explain anything to us.” She yelled possessed by anger. Carol had her mind set in protecting Jessica. She knew everyone had failed her before, but she was going to prove her she was the exception. She needed to prove her they could trust each other.

“Yelena is right. They sent him here to torture me… To tell everyone…” She took a deep breath. “We were romantically involved. Or that’s what I thought at the moment. His name is Jared. Our relationship was arranged by Madam HYDRA herself when I was a teenager. I found out too late.” She was raised by Viper and knew her well enough to know Jared was sent to tell SHIELD everything and to hurt her the most.

The car went silent again. Carol couldn’t find any words of comfort, she could feel only rage. She was going to take HYDRA down; she was going to find this Madam HYDRA and bring her to justice. They had arrived at the base but she couldn’t stop thinking about beating anyone who hurt her new friend.

Nick Fury was standing, concern was read on his face. “We search him clean. We found a letter to Ms. Drew and a pen drive to us. Maria is setting a new computer to use and securing our system in case is a bug.” He handed the letter to Jessica. “I respect you too much for lying to you. I’ve read it. Let me tell you this: that woman is a nutcase! Her words don’t mean anything.”

That was the only time Nick Fury was somehow polite to her. It had to be worse than she believed. She opened the letter: _My beautiful little Jessie, I am so delighted to see you after all this time, you naughty girl of mine. I can’t tell you enough how much you hurt me, how much you disappointed me when you run away, but I had the hope that you would return to me. I still do. Can you imagine how much upset me seeing you playing hero with those women? HYDRA is your home. I am your home! There is no one in this world that can love you as much as I do. From the moment I saw you were safe, all was forgiven. But I still need to teach you a lesson you seemed to have forgotten. My precious baby Jessie, you need to understand that neither this Carol Danvers nor any SHIELD agent could care about you truly. They just want to use your power; the skills HYDRA gave to you. They need to see who my Jessie is. You need to see who my Jessie is. I attached a video to agent Jared, the video of a young beautiful girl becoming the HYDRA woman you’ve become. I know is going to be painful for you to see how your filthy father got what he deserved, so I sent Jared as a gift to you. He was always your favorite toy, but lately he’s been too disrespectful to keep. His fate is irrevocable, so you can enjoy taking care of him. I’m sure you need to put your anger to rest; you can use him. When they turn their backs on you, when their eyes can’t meet your lovely green eyes, I’ll be here waiting for you, to comfort you, to take care of you as I always have. Just remember how special you are to me, how strong I’ve made you and you will be fine. I know I’m a part of you as you’re a part of me. That’s never going to change, Jessie. I love you so much, my beautiful treasure. You’re, and you’ll always be my most important legacy. The only person who loves you, your Viper. _

“Jess, are you okay?” Carol asked when Jessica started shivering. _The only person who loves you**… **_Those words hurt her the most.

“Here. You can read it I don’t mind.” She gave Carol the letter and turned to Fury. “You know what it’s on the pen drive. I don’t think it’s a bug. It’s the security footage of the day I killed my father. You should see it anyways.” She said almost emotionless and headed to the room where they were keeping Jared. She left Carol and Fury standing in shocked by the confession.

“I’ve read the letter, Jessica.” Yelena voice stopped her.

“Well, isn’t that wonderful? A great piece of mind-crap manipulation literature should be publicly shared.” Jessica said sarcastically. Of course everyone had read the damn letter. Viper wasn’t stupid. She was absolutely crazy but she knew how to manipulate people better than anyone.

“I was trained in the Red Room, and you know that. Viper is right. She’s a part of you and she’ll always be. But as a fellow former terrorist I must say that whoever you’ll become, that’s entirely your choice.” Yelena put her hand over Jess’ shoulder and squeezed it a little. For the first time since the HYDRA incident, Jessica smiled.

“I didn’t Widows do pep-talk. Are you expecting a hug?” Yelena rolled her eyes.

“If you hug me, you die. I’ll take you to your lover-boy. Or should I say toy-boy?” She smirked mischievously.

“Walking on thin ice, now.” Jessica warned her playfully. Yelena was right, it was her choice now. Even if everyone did turn her back at her, she wasn’t going back. She was free. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica faces her past to start a new path. With Carol's help, she feels she has hope this time.

“What do you want from me, Jared?” Jessica was facing whom she once believed to be the love of her life. They had shared everything back in the Hydra days. They barely met each other when they were teenagers, and immediately became inseparable friends. It didn't take long for them to fall in love and start a relationship. Or at least for her to fall in love. _I was such a stupid child._ Jessica thought to herself as she stared at the man.

“This will shock you a little, but hear me out… Viper has been a little unstable since you left. Many of the higher-ups believe that the reason Hydra has had such a hard time keeping itself together is that she, as our Madame Hydra is not all together. But you Jessie… You were born Hydra. And that means so much to us. You’ve been around the world, yet here you are. We need a new Madame Hydra. We think if you can get over yourself, finally embrace it… It’s you. You were born Hydra, you’re blood.” Jared was smiling at her like nothing had happened between them. She could understand now why Viper had sent him; the woman was not an idiot after all.

“Are you really that stupid? Viper sits at the head of your table, and I bet that is precisely why you are here.” Jessica said as calmly as she could.

“Don’t you think we know that? Don’t you think I know I’m here to get killed? That had never mattered, Jessie. The only thing that matters is Hydra. We talked about this, remembered?” Of course she remembered. She remembered all the lies. The idea they were changing the world; fighting terrorist who threatened democracies; bringing peace; helping third world countries stabilized their economies.

“You’re right. You’re not stupid, Jared. You’re absolutely delusional.” Jessica stood up and closed the door behind her. She wasn’t interesting on what he had to say anymore.

Carol, Nick and Maria were in one of the rooms watching the video for the third time. A much younger Jessica, running scared through the halls of a factory-like facility. She stopped in front of a door, abruptly, and opened it not without hesitation. They could see how the girl began to tremble in horror when she found herself inside the laboratory, facing the man who was her father, visibly confused. “Daddy?” The girl managed to articulate the question with a trembling voice.

“Jessie?” The man rushed to hug his daughter. “You’re healthy? No heart arrhythmias? No tumors? What do you eat? Do you have an irregular menstrual cycle?--“

“Stop it!” Jessica yelled at him confused by his questions. “I thought you were death.” She burst into tears. Carol remembered seeing the same expression the girl had in the video, in Jessica’s face hours earlier, when Hydra's truck appeared on the street. She was enraged; she couldn't understand how someone could be able to leave a girl in that state of vulnerability. It was very difficult for her to see the images of a broken Jessica and resist the urge to go looking for her to protect her, to assure her that nobody would ever harm her again. But she knew it wasn't her battle to fight. For the first time, she couldn't use her powers and make all that disappear.

“You’re a biological miracle, you know that?” His father continued saying, gathering medical equipment. “If you knew enough to find me here, then you know what this place is. You know what I’m doing here. You’re my greatest achievement. Imagine what we could accomplish with just a little bit of your blood, Jessie. Nothing could stop Hydra!”

Little Jessica had managed to stop crying. She was gathering courage to speak, but her voice was weak, broken. “What about mommy? I know you- - Did you kill her?” Viper had been crouched against the wall, listening intently, waiting for the perfect moment to enter. Finally, she walked to stand behind a still trembling Jessica.

“Your mother made her own decisions and she paid the price. Frankly, I’m amazed she lasted as long as she did.” Her father answered coldly. “Madame Hydra, I wasn’t expecting you to join us. I’m honor by your presence.” He looked at the older woman with deep admiration.

Viper placed her hands over Jessica’s shoulder and gave her a calmed, warmed smile. “Well, Dr. Drew, it was about time we met. You gave me my greatest treasure, after all. My little Jessie.” The little girl was looking at her startled, her fists were clenched and gave off a green glow. “But I’m afraid our association must come to an end. You hurt my little girl, and that’s not something I can forgive.” She smiled wickedly when she saw the fear in his eyes.

“I don’t understand. Hydra- - You- - I’ve succeeded. I’ve created the perfect weapon.” Dr. Drew was backing up in shock.

“It’s time, darling. He is not worthy enough to be your father. He never was. He killed your mom and then abandoned you. Show him what I taught you!” Viper ordered the girl in a firm but soft voice. Jessica looked at her father for the last time. She was breathing heavily in anticipation.

“Do it for Hydra, Jessie.” Those were her father’s last words. The footage stopped when the girl was clinging to Viper, crying desperately after hitting the man with a venom blast.

“And that’s Tuesdays at Hydra camp.” Jessica’s remark made everyone looked back. Nobody had noticed she had been standing by the door. Carol rushed to turn off the video but it was already too late. What followed was a deathly silent. “I was ten when I saw my father killed my mom. I heard them arguing about me, but I didn’t know why... It turns out I was never sick as a child as it says in my file; it was all a lie… My father was a Hydra scientist, my mother was a Hydra agent. Cupid works in a mysterious way, doesn’t he?” She tried to diffuse the tension with a joke, but she soon realized it was pointless. “My father thought they could create the perfect Hydra weapon, and that’s why I was born. My DNA was modified so I could be stronger than an average human being and I was given these powers. But my father imagined me even stronger and kept experimenting on me to achieve that. My mom… She asked him to stop. She was afraid his experiments might hurt me.” Jessica cleared her throat. It was the first time she told that to anyone, and she was sure only one of them liked her. “So he killed her. I found out about it that day. Viper showed me my father’s journals, and then told me the higher ranked agents were keeping him in the base to replicate the experiments on other people. I just couldn’t let that happen.” She gathered all her strength to show no weakness. She avoided Carol's gaze at all times to avoid breaking down in tears.

“I understand the feeling, Ms. Drew.” Nick Fury spoke with a sympathetic voice. “My best friend turned out to be one of the Hydra heads, and I didn’t hesitate to kill him. Maybe you’ve met him: Alexander Pierce.”

“Yeah… Handsome fella, always bragging about his Novel Prize.” Jessica was looking at the floor ashamed and hurt, unable to look at any of them anymore. She could feel the pity in their eyes. At least, in Carol's and Fury's. Maria Hill never changed her expression. She could still read the distrust of that woman.

“Now that I think of it, every Hydra agent I’ve ever met was crazy as shit. How come you are not mumbling Hail Hydra crap and spitting foam from your mouth right now, Ms. Drew?” Jessica laughed and everyone stared at her, confused by her reaction.

“Well, it takes a careful balance between sarcasm and denial” She shrugged. Maria Hill rolled her eyes incredulously and annoyed. On the one hand, Jessica was relieved that the woman did not show pity for her history, but on the other, she was angry at her attitude. Even after Klaw's incident, she still didn't trust Jessica. That reaffirmed her worst fears: perhaps she would never be trustworthy to anyone.

“You have some training to do. The clumsiness you displayed while fighting Dr. Klaw is not something you should look forward to repeat.” Maria said dryly. “Yelena can help with that.”

“I’ve never said I wanted to be a hero, Hill.” Jessica snapped at her. That woman was an ass.

“Let me explain you something: you have two choices. The first one is working with us and the other one is being locked in a cell for the rest of your life, Jessie.”

“You don’t want to find out what happens if you call me Jessie ever again.” Agent Hill really had the ability to press her buttons.

“Just blew off some steam with agent Belova, Ms. Drew. Two or three hours every day and I guarantee you won’t have to meet agent Hill for a while.” Fury stepped in before the situation went out of hands. Jessica only looked for Carol’s gaze. Her friend babbled a "please" almost imperceptible.

“Fine. I guess I could do that.” Jessica resigned herself to the idea, letting Carol grab her hand and guide her out of the room. Before anyone could say anything, she felt Carol's hand wrap around her forearm and in a second she lifted it in the air. Jessica looked at Carol in a daze. "Carol!" She screamed. "Carol, what are you doing? Get me down, now!" Carol was focused only on her thoughts, her gaze fixed forward and her increasingly firm hands on Jessica, who was trying to free herself from her grip. They arrived to the apartment and Carol placed Jessica finally on the floor and stared at the window.

“What the hell was that Carol Danvers?” Jessica yelled, waving her hands in the air. “I get you might be disappointed at me or something, but you cannot grab me like if I was an object to be placed around.” She was walking agitatedly around the room, when Carol turned to see her and grabbed her arms again, this time more gently. Jessica was paralyzed, with her mouth partially open and a look of surprise at Carol's attitude.

Carol slowly raised her hands to stroke Jessica's cheeks. She had been trying to find the right words throughout the journey, but she wasn't very good at expressing her feelings. “I’m not disappointed at you. I want you to be happy, Jess. I want you to find a home. And I thought that you maybe would consider staying if I showed you there is a place right here for you.”  
Jessica blushed and Carol felt her relax under her touch. The captain began to feel dizzy, her stomach began to twist and finally she backed away. “I’m sorry, Jess. I think I’m gonna get sick.”  
Jessica headed towards the other end of the room quickly. “No, just get close to the window. There’s this thing about my powers that I can’t fully control when I get nervous. I segregate some pheromones that make people feel sick or attracted to me. I’m sorry.” She explained shyly. She wasn’t nervous around Carol, but she couldn’t tell her that it were her caresses that triggered the pheromones.

“Oh, that’s a relief. So do you think you could stay with me for a while?” Carol asked hopefully.

“You mean like roommates?” Jessica wasn’t the best person to live with. She was an absolute mess on a good day, couldn’t afford rent most of the time and she used to wake up from nightmares screaming in the middle of the night.

“Kind off. I talked with Fury about starting a space team right in the Earth’s atmosphere, so I’ll be rather busy overseeing the construction and gathering the right crew.” She explained to the brunette carefully. But she was really looking forward to spend as much time with her as possible. “You also need a place to stay while you’re training with Yelena, and you’ll be more comfortable here rather than in S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“It seems you got yourself a roommate then.” Carol run to hug her and… “Damn pheromones!”


	5. Once a failure...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica tries to adapt to her new life as a hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter I will develop Carol's story in greater depth. I know that so far it seems that it's just Jessica's story.

Pepper Potts was furious. It had been only a couple of weeks since Jessica Drew had entered the new Avengers program she had founded after Tony’s death and the woman somehow inevitably found a new way to create more problems than those she tried to stop. She entered the police station and headed to the entrance table while sighing resignedly. ”I’m looking for Jessica Drew.” She informed the officer who was sitting behind the desk.

“An officer will escort you to her cell. Right that way, Ms Potts.” He pointed in the direction of a corridor while another officer kindly signaled her to follow him.

Jessica was standing in the middle of the cell, arguing with a group of women. "I won fairly. It is not my fault that I am exceptionally skilled in charades."

“The game’s not over, Drew! What kind of movie is Raging Bull anyway?” One of the women said levelling her eyes as the officer interrupted the argument by opening the cell.

“Miss Drew, out.” The man said to her. Jessica waved goodbye to the ladies who complained about the game not being finished as she walked down the hall silently alongside the officer and Pepper until both women exited the police station.

“Charades? Really?” Pepper pointed towards the card and Jessica just shrugged. She knew it was a matter of time before someone found out that she had been apprehended. But she had hoped it wasn't exactly Potts. She directed a brief glance at the other woman. From the day Pepper learned that Jessica had saved Carol and was training in SHIELD, she had pressed Fury to allow her to enter the Avengers program. She had always been kind and generous to Jessica, although she constantly preserved some distance.

They sat in the car in silence and Jessica sighed dejectedly. She knew they were going to have a long talk about what had happened. She thought that perhaps she had already done enough reprehensible things, that the patience Pots had shown had run out and that she was going to get her out of the program. As was common Jessica prepared to hear the worst.

When they reached the Stark Tower, they got out of the car and then entered the building. The situation was extremely awkward for Jessica, her anxiety had skyrocketed but she knew that whatever she could say would make everything worse, so she remained silent until they entered Pepper's office.

Once inside, Pots sat down in the chair behind the neatly tidy desk and pointed Drew at the chair that was in opposition to her. She sat down and stared at Pepper expectant.

The other woman seemed calm, she took one of the devices and looked at it frowning.

“What’s going on with you? You assaulted an officer!” Pots ultimately said. Although Jessica had not attended high school, she imagined that this was how a student should feel in the principal's office

“He was pretending to be a monster-man!” Jessica tried to defend herself.

“Two weeks ago, you did $20.000 damage to Jasmine’s Jewelry on 43rd crashing through the front glass in your attempt to thwart a non-existent burglary.” Pepper continued to point out not so calmly.

“Who in hell hires retired villains to security guard?” Jessica muttered ashamed.

This caused the woman to stare at her for a few seconds furiously until she jerked her head and pursued the conversation.

“Last week you broke a stuntman’s leg yanking him from a burning car.” She said dryly.

“That was an honest mistake!” Drew explained defeated.

“And finally, three days ago you managed to disable two subway trains for three and a half hours.” Pepper was frustrated. She knew that Jessica had a lot of potential, she was aware of her abilities. For those reasons and for what Carol had briefed her, she had tried to be patient with her. She still believed in her, even if that meant she would have to work harder.

“Well, you’ve clearly been keeping track, but that was a win. I caught that purse-snatcher.” Jessica replied defensively. She had been working nonstop for the past few weeks. The trainings with Yelena were exhausting, but still she gave one hundred percent in each. Then she had to go out to patrol numerous neighborhoods, five hours a day to fulfill the program she was in. She couldn't recognize to anyone that at night she could barely sleep for a few hours, that she woke up terrified by the nightmares and that on the days Carol was in the next room she didn't even sleep for fear that her friend would realize that she was having those problems. She was not clever at dealing with her feelings. She had learned that they were a sign of weakness and that telling someone left her in a place of vulnerability where she never wanted to be. She had always handled everything alone; she didn't know any other way.

"Just talk to me. Or if you prefer, talk to Carol. I know it's not easy to adapt to this recent life, but you're making it more difficult for yourself." Pepper offered her an affectionate look. "The three therapists I sent you quit after one session and one of them even cried. I’m concerned about you, Jessica."

“I’m fine. I don’t do girl talk.” Jessica crossed her arms over her chest and looked over the window. She knew she was behaving like a child, but she couldn’t help it. She hated the fact she was disappointing everyone who had given her a second chance.

“Ms. Potts, Carol Danvers has arrived.” The voice of the AI announced, saving Jessica from the rest of the awkward conversation.

“Send her in. Well, it seems your ride is here.” Pepper said to Jessica as Carol entered the room. They greeted each other friendly and gave each other a hearty hug. “I guess I’ll see you later, Jessica. Take care of yourself.” She said goodbye to Jessica in the hope that the woman would talk to Carol.

“So, how bad was it?” Carol asked playfully as they walked to their apartment.

"Awful. Every time Pepper sits me in her office, I feel like I'm a teenager who was found kissing a boy in a school closet." Jessica sighed bitterly. “The fact I was more competent at being a brain-washed Hydra agent than a legitimate avenger… I can’t tell you what a warm feeling in my tummy that gives me.”

"Oh, come on, Jess. I don't think that's minimally accurate. No one doubts that when the time comes, you're going to be ready to show off." Carol placed her arm around her. "But until that moment, you need to shower. I don't want to kick you when you're on the floor, but you stink." Both women laughed as they entered the apartment. Jessica snatched some food from the fridge and headed towards the shower.

“Your commitment to food constantly astonishes me. Now you eat in the shower too?” Carol pointed out with a smirk.

“It’s call multitasking, babe.” Jessica nibbled her lip to hide the smile on her face. Before she could enter the shower, both women's SHIELD communication devices rang. “I absolutely needed a shower.” Jessica sighed.

Carol flew with Jessica in her arms to the address indicated in the message. Yelena was already there with a woman and a man, discussing the action plan. “Captain, nice of you to join us.” Yelena looked at Jessica with a smirk and added. “I’m glad the police released you, Drew. Although we tremendously enjoyed the pictures.” She showed the woman her phone.

“Of course there are pictures.” Jessica rolled her eyes.

“Why don’t we focus on the mission?” Carol said dryly. “According to our intel, this is an A.I.M facility. They’ve been working on a dangerous toxin we need to retrieve. This is our first mission as a team. I believed some of you have been training together the past few weeks, so there is only one introduction required. I’m Carol Danvers, A.K.A Captain Marvel, and I’ll lead you today.” Carol articulated her speech solemnly. Logan and Jessica looked at each other, laughing, Yelena reviewed the plans of the place and Jennifer doubted whether to reply Carol's words.

“Should I… you know?” Jennifer finally asked.

“Yeah, lady. We’re gonna need the you-Hulk for this.” Logan spoke up. Every so often it was an advantage that man did not have the slightest subtlety. Everyone looked at Jennifer expectantly until she completely transformed into She-Hulk.

“Let’s go in!” Carol ordered firmly.

“Knock, knock!” Jessica said playfully.

“Who’s there?” Her blond friend followed the joke. She appreciated the brunette's sense of humor, although sometimes it was inappropriate for the circumstances.

“Claire!” They were prepared to burst in.

“Claire, who?” Logan asked rolling his eyes. With a blast, Carol knocked down a wall and everyone entered the facility.

“Claire the way boys, we’re comin’ through!” The team easily fought the A.I.M agents who weren’t expecting them. When all the enemy agents lay on the ground unconscious, the rookie avengers set out to search for the target.

"We are going to separate into two groups." Carol looked at her team from the air. "Yelena and Logan, you are with me on the top floor. She-Hulk and Jessica remain here and review this area." All of them agreed and they scattered.

Jessica took an ID card from one of the unconscious agents while She-Hulk looked at her suspiciously. "What? As much as I love to blow things up if the toxin disperses we don't know what can happen. Better act intelligently, don't you think?" Jennifer chuckled.

“A smart decision from a woman that ended up arrested just yesterday.” They headed to one of the rooms, and they could identify one of the labs from a window.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Green.” Jessica said while she was trying to open the door where the carefully stored containers were located, without success.

“So much for being smart.” She-Hulk grunted gaining distance to knock down the door.

“WAIT! DON’T…” It was too late, the door, half wall and most of the containers fell to the floor. A thick smoke spread among them. Jessica looked at She-Hulk alarmed. Both were having trouble breathing, although Jessica had the advantage of being immune to toxins. The green woman's expression began to change rapidly while she was breathing hard. "Emm ... Guys we have a situation down here." Jessica said to the intercom before She-Hulk hit her and made her cross three walls. "Dammit! The containers have broken. She-Hulk has been compromised. Get out of the building!"

Carol grabbed Logan and Yelena and transported them outside. “I’m going back in!” Carol yelled to them. “We need to contain the She-Hulk before she ravages the entire city.” The green monster woman had different plans. She was in the middle of the street smashing and tossing cars around. The three members of the team rushed towards her and started fighting against their colleague. Carol was the only one powerful enough to get close enough and maintain a close combat. Regardless, the woman was her friend and she didn't plan to injure her, so she held back her power while attacking.

Jessica ran to where the others were standing, just in time to see how She-hulk, with a sudden movement, took Carol and hit her repeatedly until she threw her hard into a building. “CAROL!!!” She screamed in horror. “You two go get her and make sure she’s ok. I’ll stop She-Hulk.” She walked towards the green woman trying to relax herself. It was a beneficial thing she hadn’t had time to shower and wasn’t using the perfume Pepper had designed for her pheromones problems. Jessica had been training to handle them in the training session with little success. It was a enormous risk to use them against She-Hulk, but she couldn’t think of a better way.

“You’re not strong enough to fight against a Hulk, Jessica.” Yelena tried to talk her out.

“Nobody is fighting. Just prepare for the most pessimistic scenario.” Jessica run to gain some courage and throw a venom blast at She-Hulk’s face. She managed to dodge the other woman’s attack and climbed to her shoulders. Her gaze was fixed in a troubled Carol. She took a deep breath and released the pheromones. She-Hulk slowly calmed herself as Jessica murmured soothing words to her ear. “Bring Jennifer back, kind girl.” She said sweetly, climbing down the Hulk’s vigorous body.

The monster nodded and turned into Jennifer. The woman looked exhausted, her legs trembled and she finally passed out.

“You’re insane, kid.” Logan playfully said to Jessica.

“Jess, that was amazing!” Carol grinned proudly and hugged her.

“Loose the tone of surprise and inform that to Pepper.” Jessica laughed. She reached for a container tube inside of her suit and delivered it to Carol. “The last one standing. Congrats, Captain. The mission was successful.” She said looking at the broad smile in her friend’s face.

Jennifer was taken to a clinic for studies but her vital signs were strong. A group of agents began to carry out containment and cleaning tasks. Carol approached one of them and initiated a friendly conversation while Jessica observed her from a distance. “I’m gonna head home, old man.” She said to Logan.

“Yeah, you need to take a shower, kid. But you’re still hot as usual.” He mocked her.

“Gross.” Jessica said heading to the apartment and shifted a last casual glance at Carol.

\- - - -

After the long hot shower Jess really needed, she ordered the bathroom because she knew Carol was disturbed by her mess and sat on the couch. The fatigue she felt overcame her, and she fell asleep without resistance. Only a few hours later she woke up abruptly from a nightmare. Her face was smeared in tears, her breathing was erratic and her clenched fists flashed. It took a few seconds to comprehend what was happening. Carol was next to her, trying to reassure her. She held on to her tightly and stroked her back. “Carol?” Jessica’s voice frail.

“Shh. It’s okay, Jess. You’re okay. I’m here.” Jessica clung to Carol's body, crying inconsolably. Gradually, she managed to calm down. She regretted that her friend saw her in that state. She merely wanted to sink into that woman's shoulder. She didn't want to have to face her gaze. However, Carol took a reasonable distance from her body and looked at her with concern. "How long has this been happening to you?" The blonde asked while lovingly wiping the tears from the other woman's face with a tissue.

“Dunno. It doesn’t matter. It’ll go away.” Jessica got up and looked for her phone inside her purse. "I need a drink. I'm going to tell a Logan to wait for me at a bar around here. I can't do this now, Carol." She knew she was being unjust to the blonde, but she needed to go away. She didn't want to be a burden to her friend; she had done too much to encourage her already.

Carol stared at her wounded without knowing what to reply. It hurt to think that Jessica wanted to get away from her when she felt vulnerable. "Logan? Are you two close now?" She asked without being sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah, he’s cool." She barely finished saying this and had already crossed the threshold of the door. Carol sat for a few seconds clenching her fist. She stroked the coffee table harder than expected, shattering it. Then she did what she always did, flew into space to obtain some peace of mind.

\- - - -

When Logan arrived at the bar, he encountered Jessica sitting at a table in a dusky corner with her hands on her head and half a bottle of whiskey. "So kid, no glass this time. Another nightmare?" They had discussed that before. The identical thing happened to both of them with some frequency. Both had gone through difficult situations and were bad at talking about it. But both were good at drinking. Therefore that's what they got together to do.

“Carol saw me.” Jessica snatched the bottle and drank some more. “Sit so I could drink you over the table, old man.”

“You’re not the most screwed up person in this table, kid.” The waitress approached with another bottle. She left it at the table and walked away as the woman thanked her. “How many have you had?”

“That would be the fourth bottle, my friend. Let’s make a toast!” Jessica was a little drunk. She wasn't modulating at all correctly, but Logan knew that she needed more than four bottles to be totally intoxicated. “To drinking our problems away!” She crashed their bottles together, shattering the one she was holding. “Dammit!” The blood was pouring from her hand to her arm. The woman laughed ridiculously.

“You’re going full stupid tonight, aren’t you?” Logan handed her a napkin. He had been prepared to see his friend in terrible shape. They were remarkably similar people, and facing her was like facing a younger self. Because of this, he knew what she really needed, even if Jessica refused. He had asked Nick Fury for a way to contact Carol in case the situation warrants it. But before he could text her, she was walking in with a guy.

"You got to be kidding." Jessica muttered as she extracted the remaining pieces of glass from her hand.

Carol seemed astonished to have encountered Jessica at the bar. She leaned down to speak to her companion's ear, and he followed her closely as she headed to the table where her friend was sitting. "I thought you would be home by now." The blonde told Jessica, who had hidden her hand under the table. "How are you doing, Logan?” She tried to be polite but couldn’t fake it very well. “This is Simon."

“Why don’t you join us? Jessica here was trying to take pieces of glass out of her hand. It’s really entertaining to watch.” Jessica gave Logan a stunned look. The man laughed with pleasure watching the brunette blush.

“Jessica Drew, show me your hand!” Carol didn't find it entertaining that her friend was drunk and had her hand cut off. Seeing Jessica and Logan together, she could appreciate why they got along so well. “Now!” She asked the other woman, who reluctantly raised her bloody hand. “Grab your coat, we’re going home.”

“You know I love you, Carol Danvers. But I’m not a child!” Jessica was upset. “So I’m going to sit here with my friend, old man Logan, and we’re going to finish our drink.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I’m going to sit right here as well.” Carol was so worried about the brunette that she had forgotten Simon was standing there looking like a fool.

“Rain check then?” Simon said a little confused. “I’ll call you tomorrow… Emm… Nice to meet you!” He awkwardly waved at the two sitting people and walked away.

“Old man Logan is gonna head home now kid.” Logan stood looking at an offended Jessica. “Take care of her, she needs you.” He whispered to Carol before he left. Jessica took the bottle of whiskey and drank everything she could at once.

“I’m sorry, Carol. I genuinely am.” She blurted. “For messing up the opportunity, you gave me; for being a crappy roommate; for ruining your date; for pushing you away. Fuck it! I’m sorry for wrecking your life!” She concealed her face with both hands. “You’re the last person I would wanna hurt.” Carol smiled serenely. God she loved this woman so much.

“You haven’t ruined anything, Jess. Having you in my life is one of the best things that has happened to me.” She laughed when she saw half Jessica’s face stained with her blood. “Let’s get you home. You covered your face in blood.”

“Logan said it earlier, I went full stupid tonight.” She took Carol’s hand, and they headed to the apartment.

Carol took the glass splinters from Jessica's hand carefully, sold her hand and helped her clean. She treated her friend as if she were the most valuable and fragile creature in the universe. When Jessica went to her room to change clothes, Carol turned on the TV and waited for her friend with popcorn and a movie on the DVD. Both women sat on the couch.

“I’d rather go to sleep if that’s ok.” Carol nodded and turned off the TV. She walked in Jessica’s room. “You do know that’s my room, right?” Jessica stared at her.

“Yeah, I’m cuddling you tonight.” Carol answered decisively. Both women got into the bed in silence and Jessica rested her head on Carol’s shoulder as she stroked her back. That was the first night Jessica had a decent sleep.


End file.
